Ayubowan, good evening.
To begin with, as the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai, let me welcome you to the Sri Lanka Destination Wedding Show.
As you know, the kind of wedding this show hopes to promote squarely falls within international tourism and travel. While I will leave it up to my colleagues from Sri Lanka Tourism and other representatives from Sri Lanka travel sector to talk about the specificities of what is on offer and what is possible in the wedding landscape in Sri Lanka, I want to locate the idea of a wedding or getting married across international borders in its broader context marked by international travel and the need to expand the cultural scope of tourism itself.
Usually, discourses on tourism are about arrival and departure statistics, hotel occupancy figures, service provision indices, revenue for governments and travel industry, descriptions of tourist sites and so on. While all these are certainly important considerations, tourism and travel within which wedding planning will ultimately be located, are also about culture, knowledge and potential for soft diplomacy in times to come.
It is in such a context that the 19th and early 20th century writer, Mark Twain noted, “one must travel to learn.” Indeed, I think it is important not only to organize one’s wedding in Sri Lanka, but equally to learn about Sri Lanka in a more nuanced sense through that experience similar to what Mark Twain suggested.
In other words, why not try to replicate the words of the 14th century traveler, Ibn Battuta who travelled to both Sri Lanka and India and observed, “traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” In the time of the advances made in digital and telecommunication technology, because of which everyone is both a photojournalist and commentator on social media, I think it is imperative for a country like ours to not only offer the best possible wedding packages as this show attempts, but also make the people who opt for a wedding in Sri Lanka to also become veritable story travelers of their experience. That is, both their wedding as well as the people and places they encountered during their sojourn in Sri Lanka. What better endorsement can one expect than those rooted in experience?
What is on offer in Sri Lanka for travelers – including for those who travel for weddings – are an integral part of the global tourism discourse, ranging from the country’s wildlife, forests and beaches to ancient citadels and temples.
As we plan for newer inroads into wedding planning and related travel, I think this conventional focus on Sri Lankan tourism should be further expanded into areas Sri Lanka can and should expand but so far has not. For instance, shouldn’t the travel and wedding agenda coincide with the country’s emerging literary and publishing scene in English by focusing on some of the local literary festivals?
Similarly, coming to visual culture, why not open post 18th century frescoes particularly in Buddhist temples also as guided destinations for travelers? Sri Lanka also has one of the most dynamic contemporary art scenes in South Asia, which has been going on since at least the 1980s. Some of these artists will be showcasing their works at a major Sri Lankan exhibition at Bikaner House in Delhi on 14th September. Why not make their studios, homes and their engagement in art a part of the tourism experience, notwithstanding that their works are now being seriously acquired globally including in India.
What I am trying to say is, as we plan and promote Sri Lanka as an ideal wedding destination, it should also be presented as a destination of both contemporary and ancient culture, sophisticated and nuanced contemporary art and literature, cuisine, beaches, wildlife, temples and so on. In other words, our tourism discourse can be creatively rethought and made more complex, and thereby also opening more avenues for future international travel towards Sri Lanka. I think such openings, if well thought out can also be modes of soft diplomacy for Sri Lanka.
As this show gets underway and Sri Lanka Tourism promotes Sri Lanka as a wedding destination, we also need to note that the year 2025 began with a positive note for Sri Lanka Tourism, with four international tourism endorsements, coming from the Lonely Planet, Vogue Magazine, the BBC Travel Guide and from the Travel & Tour World. These are significant global accolades up to now, this year alone.
All this means, when Sri Lanka Tourism as an agency of the Sri Lankan government and travel sector operators in the country have come forward to promote Sri Lanka as a wedding destination, those intentions and plans have to be understood within the established track record in tourism the country already has along with our legendary hospitality, which has been globally recognized.
So, let me congratulate Sri Lanka Tourism, the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau and others involved for their hard work in organizing this event. My office would be happy to collaborate within our mandate in future promotions. Once again, I would like to welcome all of you, and wish you an enjoyable and enlightening evening.
Thank you.
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